Deciding on a math curriculum can be one of the most challenging things facing those new to homeschooling. It's no secret that teaching math is one of the big fears for people thinking about homeschooling. In fact, if you research homeschool terms on the web, you will find that "homeschool math curriculum" is perhaps the most regularly employed search terms on the web! Obviously there's a demand for folks looking for the proper math curriculum. So, what are the things you'll want to consider when evaluating the various math curriculum available?

What's Your Child's Learning Style?

One of the initial things I would suggest is to Know Your Child. Now this probably seems pretty elementary since as a general rule we're homeschooling our very own children. But what I really mean is having a genuine grasp of what your student's learning style is. You will find several different math curriculum out there that employ varying educational philosophies. So recognizing your student's natural learning style is essential in determining the very best math curriculum for them. What are the main learning styles? Well, you will discover three. Visual Learners, Auditory Learners and Kinesthetic (or Tactile) Learners.

Visual Learners learn through seeing. Such things as pictures, diagrams, whiteboard drawings, etc. will be far more successful for those who process information visually.

Auditory learners learn via listening. Auditory learners find learning environments most successful when they involve lecture, dialogue, listening along with the opportunity to verbalize while they digest facts.

Do you have a child or student that is always fiddling with something when you try to teach them? Likelihood is they are a Kinesthetic or Tactile learner. This way of learning finds a learning environment most successful when it allows for hand's on activity and exploring the physical world. Kinesthetic learners find it very stressful if they can't do something active for a lengthy time and will need activity incorporated into their studies.

So what does that have to do with a homeschool math curriculum? Well you will discover a variety of homeschool math curriculum resources out there to suit every learning style. Begin by evaluating what math curriculum has the features that meet the needs of your student's style, for instance manipulatives, books with pictures and diagrams, instructional videos, CDs, flash cards, etc. Just what are the workbooks, notebooks and textbooks like and will they be suitable to your student in line with their style?

Curriculum Teaching Method

Your 2nd primary factor in choosing a math curriculum is the teaching philosophy. The way in which math was taught up until recently was by utilizing a method referred to as mastery and there's a good chance this is how you studied math. The mastery method is basically an approach of teaching where students master 1 concept just before moving on to another level. A more modern educational philosophy is the spiral approach, sometimes known as "fuzzy math" in which new concepts are introduced simultaneously and students eventually grasp concepts as they go. The concept behind the spiral approach is that the activity of learning is what's important as opposed to memorization and concept mastery. A lot of homeschool curriculum will use a combination of the two with an emphasis on mastering concepts, while at the same time introducing new concepts into lessons whilst incorporating many review questions that reiterate previously learned concepts. Whilst the spiral math technique appears to dominate today's public education, there's a compelling body of study out there that argues that the mastery technique is far more successful in producing children which are confident and proficient in mathematics.

The Teacher's Style

Thirdly, you also need to think through your teaching style in addition to your knowledge of the subject. Is math challenging for you or have you got a strong background in math concepts and are you comfortable teaching the subject? If you're 1 of those for which math has constantly been a challenge, you can find lots of math curriculum available which will assist you, either with a compressive teachers manual or, even better, with instructional DVDs. DVD and video based curriculum are excellent tools to help you provide instructor based learning in cases where the subject is not your strong suit. Maybe you're one who likes math and who is really comfortable teaching math. 1 of the great benefits of homeschooling is that you might have the ability to use various curriculum to fit your student and you can customize curriculum. Up to here, I've focused much more on those that actually require a curriculum to help with math education. But if you're one who is comfortable teaching math, bear in mind that a curriculum is simply a guide and not something you need to rigidly adhere to. Your child or student's education will be much more determined by you than by the curriculum you make use of. A teacher who understands their student's learning styles and aptitudes can take even a mediocre curriculum and make a great encounter out of it. If math's not your factor, then yes your curriculum selection will probably be much more critical, but here's a word of advice. Even if math is tough for you, do not assume it will be tough for your youngsters. A lot of homeschool parents have created self-fulfilling prophecies by talking about how hard math is and how they are not great at it.

Keep in mind, as a homeschool parent one of our roles is to encourage our youngsters and students. An encouraging word and an attitude of "we're in this together" can make all of the difference between a student who gives up and 1 who learns and uses mathematics throughout their lives.